So is there really a nursing shortage?

[VegGal]

I've been a nurse (LPN) for several years, and a fairly new RN now in California. While in school, both ASN and now my BSN I kept hearing about the huge nursing shortage we're facing, and how much worse it's going to get, and I still hear it. Then I read posts from experienced nurses on here who state that there's no nursing shortage in most US cities.

So which one is true? I read about how the Baby Boomers will need many more nurses, and I also read how there aren't enough Gen X and Millennials to take over the Baby Boomer Nurses' jobs once they retire. I also read statistics by the ACA 2010 that state that we're facing a major nursing shortage and how many more nurses are needed, and in fact many agencies and companies have been bringing in foreign nurses to fill these so-called vacancies in nursing.

So what's the real truth? In my state of California I see lots of nursing jobs posted all the time, and I wonder if it's because of nurses retiring, quitting, new positions being created, or if it's truly a shortage of nurses at all times. What do you think? Is there a shortage? Do you see a shortage in your city / state?

[remorej]

Pockets of severe shortage, clearly. But nationwide, there is a shortage of jobs for the glut of new grads, starry eyed, thinking they would roll out the red carpet once they passed the NCLEX. Nursing schools are to blame; they put those ideas into their heads often.

If you want to live in rural areas, say of Kentucky or North Dakota, yea you will get a job, more than likely. You have to be willing to uproot your life and relocate if you want work, in many cases.

There is a shortage of experienced nurses willing to put up with the outright crap many hospitals and other places dish out, demanding more and more for less and less. Many are going to retire, many more cut back and move on. Sadly, many others FORCED out due to being "topped out" on pay with seniority and being asked to settle while watching a new grad hire on for 1 dollar an hour less. What a slap in the face.

But, I, on the other hand, applaud the Millennial generation. They are not willing to put up with the crap their elders traditionally have. They see what loyalty and faithful long-term employment will get you, nothing at all. They are not going to stay around when moving on will net more. They are smart; they are advancing their education sooner and moving on faster. Gotta hand it to em.

This will get really interesting when the Boomers really have all retired. I just hope there are competent, caring nurses left when we oldies in the Gen X and Boomer generation need them.

Whew.

I'm a millennial RN and totally agree. I have many years of work ahead of me. Honestly I'll work to get what I want till it's mine! Hahah

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Our system leadership mandated a minimum BSN requirement and won't accept applications from nurses with an Associate degree. Yet they are willing to moan, groan and complain about the severe nursing shortage that is keeping them from filling the HUGE number of open positions we have in our system. One of our busiest acute care floors only has two actual hospital employees - the rest of the staff is agency or travel nurses. Rather than accept an application from nurses who have graduated from one of the FOUR of the Associate degree programs in our area we are bringing in large numbers of contract nurses from outside the country. The total irony is that many of the temporary and contract nurses don't have a BSN, which is apparently OK because we haven't hired them as permanent employees....meanwhile we have a surplus of RNs who can't find jobs in their own city.

This is exactly why the hospital system in my area that tried this backed off from the BSN minimum requirement after a fairly short failed attempt. We have four ADN programs and one BSN program. There simply weren't enough BSN educated nurses in the area to fully staff the entire system.

[Ellie G]

There are definitely shortages of nurses with experience especially in ICU, PACU, ER etc. New grads may have a harder time and will need to interview well and stand out from the pack. If I were an interviewer I would look at when you finished school and when you were applying for a job. I may not ask you how many times you sat boards directly but I would look at dates to figure that out. There is still a slight shortage of nurses in my area but it helps to work as a CNA for a while and then that hospital will be more likely to hire you if you have a good work record. So my answer to "is there a nursing shortage?" Is yes and no

[K9lover, ASN, RN]

Maybe in some areas but California is saturated it would seem. New grads are having a terrible time getting hired anywhere and, given no one wants to pay benefits getting hired on as regular staff is next to impossible as well which is why I do contract.

If there's a shortage I'm not seeing it, mostly a bummer for new grads who cannot get hired on as regular staff lacking experience.

[Ellie G]

My region seems pretty much like what others are saying here.

We have plenty of new grads looking for beginner-level jobs ... most of whom have no desire to stay in the long enough to become worth the expense of training them for high level acute care. They just want 1 or 2 years of experience before moving on to something else. The constant training (and turnover) of new grads increases the stress of units considerably. (Typical med/surg nurse/patient ratio is 3:1, sometimes 4:1)

What we need are people who want to specialize in acute care and who can handle the stress that acute care involves -- and who will stay in acute care long enough to become proficient care givers and front-line leaders.

I want to know where in the heck you live that med-surg patient load is only 3 or 4-1. Where I live it is 6-8

[Wilhelmainah, ADN, BSN]

I went on to indeed.com and just searched new grad jobs before I finished school, I did this for a couple of states that I was interested living in. At the time I was in Massachussets and there did not seem to be a nurse shortage there, but why would there be, there is a nursing school on what seems like every corner. I got a new grad job in Maine which happened to be my home state with a large sign on bonus (8,000$) for coming from out of state. The check was even given to me on my first day. I am union and base pay of 28 and change but I work overnights so I make 30hr d/t shift dif. Three 12hr shifts and this hospital I work at, Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor Maine, is still experiencing a nursing shortage and has tons of job opportunities at it. There are also tons of other nursing jobs in rural Maine. The shortage is in rural areas. The school system in Bangor, Maine is pretty good but if you live in the town just next to Bangor, Orono, which is literally 3 miles from the hospital, it has one of the best school districts in Maine and Large University. Definitely a great place to raise a family. Good luck in finding a job!

...BTW I graduated in June of 2016 so not long ago!

[Ellie G]

Yes.. I am from the baby boomers generation. We are going into retirement. Many are retiring early. Many are getting out of nursing....

I retired last week at 63. 12 hour shifts and fighting MS did me in. Worked the last 19 years of my working life for a great facility. I will probably look into hospice or home infusion work in the near future. I'm giving myself 6 months work free.

[Ellie G]

I went on to indeed.com and just searched new grad jobs before I finished school, I did this for a couple of states that I was interested living in. At the time I was in Massachussets and there did not seem to be a nurse shortage there, but why would there be, there is a nursing school on what seems like every corner. I got a new grad job in Maine which happened to be my home state with a large sign on bonus (8,000$) for coming from out of state. The check was even given to me on my first day. I am union and base pay of 28 and change but I work overnights so I make 30hr d/t shift dif. Three 12hr shifts and this hospital I work at, Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor Maine, is still experiencing a nursing shortage and has tons of job opportunities at it. There are also tons of other nursing jobs in rural Maine. The shortage is in rural areas. The school system in Bangor, Maine is pretty good but if you live in the town just next to Bangor, Orono, which is literally 3 miles from the hospital, it has one of the best school districts in Maine and Large University. Definitely a great place to raise a family. Good luck in finding a job!

...BTW I graduated in June of 2016 so not long ago!

Good for you for being willing to relocate to get a good job, and best of luck with your new career. Too cold for me in Maine. My Oklahoma raised daughter lived in downeast Maine and cried on the phone to me when it snowed on her April 29th birthday. She's now back in OK

[NuGuyNurse2b]

I'm from a province in Canada (Manitoba). I've recently graduated with my BSN and passed the nclex this past month. I did my senior in an acute nephrology ward (very busy floor and had other specialty pts such as ortho, step down, even telemetry!! lol) but I got to experience a lot such as Gomco suctioning, chest drainage systems, and NG insertions! I made the executive decision not to work while studying for the nclex. Since passing, I've applied to numerous positions in my city, and out of province (Alberta). I haven't received a call back from any hospital positions... only northern nursing (I guess cause it's not a highly sought after position) and LTC. I'm pretty young and don't want to lose my skills but the problem is I haven't had a call back from acute floors so I'm afraid I may have to look at LTC to start . Positions in the city seem difficult to attain.

Nope, if you just apply and wait for the phone to ring, it will never happen. You have to find one of your classmates who might have gotten in and ask for a helping hand. if not, you have to do some investigative work (not really difficult), find out who the manager for the floor you are applying to, try to get their # and call them. Most of the applications do not get seen. The ones that do pass through whatever computerized filtration system they use to pick up on keywords (this is where you'll want to edit your resume to be custom made for every application you submit) are then placed in another pile that may still not get looked at.

[BeenThere2012, ASN, RN]

I can see that happening. I'll have my BSN in less than a week, and I'm not willing to work in Acute. I may have to reconsider based on where the jobs are, but for now I think I'm staying in LTC.

The work environment in Acute care is very difficult due to short staffing as hospitals don't want to spend the money on hiring more nurses , etc...However, the experience is very valuable and I would suggest you get a yr or two under your belt. The broader your experience, the more hireable you are and will have more options for employment.

I worked in PICU and Trauma for 19 yrs. This made it more difficult for me to find work in a different specialty. Although I certainly have many "transferable" skills, it was too long in one specialty to make it "easier" to change. The experience I had before PICU, although quite solid, was considered outdated and also may have lead to some age discrimination.

In summation, broaden your skills in areas that you would enjoy. Not suggesting you force yourself to take a position where you will be unhappy.

[Tankweti14]

I live on the East Coast, grad 6 years ago with a 3.5 BSN. Did work a couple of months in temp jobs which didnt last. Never got answers to resumes. Most hospitals want to hire from within and wont hire unless you have 2 years recent hospital experience. What state are you in where they hire new grads so readily? I am 64 now, grad at 57 so of course now age discrimination is an issue as well. I was diagnosed with breast cancer during the interim and treated for Stage I. So far so good. Now I just take $12 an hour clerical jobs to have as little stress as possible. I just dont need it.

[BeenThere2012, ASN, RN]

That makes perfect sense. I remember reading some research about Millennials being different from Baby Boomers and Gen X nurses in that Millennials want their time off, and a life, which Baby Boomers and Gen X nurses often apparently didn't "demand". The article as not disparaging of Millennial nurses, but just explaining why nursing should change to accommodate a new generation of nurses who want a good life outside of work as well as a good job. Which of course makes sense. So I can see the part about nurses being trained and then leaving fairly quickly, but I think employers may just have to get used to it because they too benefit from well-trained employees who may join them after leaving a previous job. Ultimately, I think it mostly comes down to money. If they were to pay well, I believe most nurses would stay.

Agree, but in addition to good pay, better staffing ratios. Acute care is as stressful as it is in part to the amount of work and the feeling that you can hardly keep up. At least, that is how I feel and many others I know. I loved acute care and Intensive care, but the expectations became too difficult over time. I was constantly stressed out. Maybe in part, because the experience I had knowing all that can go wrong kept me feeling I wanted to monitor more than I had time for.